"Life Itself's" Emotional Ebertfest Premiere

Steve James' documentary, "Life Itself," which survey's Roger Ebert's life and work while following him in the months before his death, is bound to provoke strong emotions in anyone who watches it, and that's especially true at film festivals, where the audience cares passionately about what Ebert stood for and many viewers came into contact with the man himself. That was certainly true of the Sundance premiere, where a young man in the audience said of Ebert, "He saved my life." But it's doubtful any screening will be as memorable as the one that took place on Wednesday as the opening-night event of Ebertfest, in the first program planned after his death. (Ebert died shortly before last year's festival, which became a sort of extended impromptu wake.)

"We've had some great screenings of the movie," James said in the Q&A afterwards, "and none can compare to this."